JP3122864B2 - Article transfer device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an article transporting apparatus which transports a cylindrical or columnar article while rolling it on a chute having an inclined surface, and then transports the article by an appropriate conveyor. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 7 shows a known apparatus for transporting a cylindrical article, for example, an empty tube for filling toothpaste. This apparatus includes a conveyor 100 and a chute unit 10 having an inclined surface along the conveying direction of the empty tube G.
2. A rotary vacuum drum 104 and a bucket conveyor 106 are provided in this order. The empty tubes G with caps are conveyed by the conveyor 100 in an aligned state, and after rolling on the chute 102, the empty tubes G are placed one by one. It is received by the rotary vacuum drum 104 and dropped and supplied onto the bucket conveyor 106 by its own weight.

[0003]

However, in the above-described apparatus, the empty tube G is liable to be inclined with respect to the traveling direction while rolling on the chute 102. In many cases, troubles tend to occur in the processes after the bucket conveyor 106, and there is a problem that the transfer and packing of empty tubes cannot be performed accurately and stably. Originally, it is easy for the empty tube to roll diagonally because the center of gravity is biased by the weight of the cap, and the tube is made of a thin film and easily deformed from its cylindrical shape to a non-cylindrical shape by its own weight and handling. This is because, unlike this, it is difficult to roll linearly.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problem, and an object of the present invention is to accurately remove an article, such as the empty tube, which tends to be inclined with respect to the traveling direction while rolling on a chute. The object of the present invention is to provide an article conveying device that can be transferred to the step of (1). Another object of the present invention is to provide a transport device capable of performing in-line transport and packing of articles.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an article conveying apparatus which transports a cylindrical or columnar article while rolling it on a chute having an inclined surface, and then transfers the article by an appropriate conveyor. In the article conveying device configured to convey, the chute device is constituted by chutes divided into a plurality of stages in the article transfer direction, and at least the foremost chutes of the chutes except the last chutes have the inclination of the inclined surface. It is supposed to be able to swing in the direction of increasing and decreasing, and at the tip of each step chute except the last step chute, a stop portion of the article and an article pushing device are provided at the stop, and Providing a sensor for detecting the transfer state of the article at the appropriate place in the first half and each stop, and when it is confirmed by the sensor that the article has stopped normally in the stop, The sensor activates and pushes up the article pushing device, and when it is confirmed by the sensor that the article has stagnated for a predetermined time on the swingable chute, the sensor swings the chute to cause the article to swing. Is dropped and discharged.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an article transporting apparatus which transports a cylindrical or columnar article while rolling it on a chute having an inclined surface, and then transports the article by an appropriate conveyor. In the transfer device, the chute device is constituted by a chute divided into a plurality of stages in the article transfer direction, and at least the foremost stage chute is capable of swinging in a direction in which the inclination of the inclined surface increases or decreases. A stop portion of the article is provided at the tip of the chute, and an article push-up device is provided at the stop portion. The transfer state of the article is detected at an appropriate position in the front half of the swingable chute and at each of the step stops. Providing a sensor, if it is confirmed by the sensor that the article has stopped in the stop portion in a normal state,
The sensor activates and pushes up the article pushing device, and when it is confirmed by the sensor that the article has stagnated for a predetermined time on the swingable chute, the sensor swings the chute to cause the article to swing. Is dropped and discharged.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the article conveying apparatus, the article stopping portion is a long groove formed by two inclined plates inclined forward in the article transfer direction and opposed to the article transfer direction. The elongated groove is characterized in that it has a size sufficient to immerse a part or the whole of the article.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the article transport apparatus, a caterpillar conveyor is provided immediately above the last chute as the conveyor, and a bucket conveyor is provided immediately after the conveyor. A sensor that detects the transfer state of the article at the location, the presence of the article is confirmed by the sensor at the article receiving unit, and the presence of the article is not confirmed on the bucket transferred to the predetermined location. The caterpillar conveyor operates in synchronism with the bucket conveyor to convey articles one by one and to transfer articles one by one onto the bucket conveyor.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the article transport device, a caterpillar conveyor is provided immediately after the chute device as the conveyor, and a bucket conveyor is provided immediately after the chute device. In the case where a sensor for detecting the transfer state of the article is provided, and the presence of the article is confirmed by the sensor in the article receiving section, and the presence of the article is not confirmed on the bucket transferred to the predetermined location, The caterpillar conveyor operates while synchronizing with the bucket conveyor to convey articles one by one and to transfer articles one by one onto the bucket conveyor.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the article transport apparatus, the bucket conveyor is capable of intermittent traveling, and a guide plate is provided on one side of the bucket conveyor in the article transport direction, and the guide plate is provided on the other side. An alignment pusher operable in a direction perpendicular to the direction is provided at the intermittent stop of the bucket conveyor.

Next, an example of the configuration of the chute device according to the present invention will be described. In the case of the article conveying apparatus of the first aspect, (1) a two-stage chute, the front chute is a swingable chute, the rear chute is a simple inclined plate, and the stop part of the article is provided at the tip of the front chute. Provided (hereinafter, “front stage” means a stage closer to the article receiving side, “rear stage” means a stage closer to the conveyor, and “tip” means a front end in the moving direction of the article, respectively). (2) A three-stage chute, wherein the first stage is a swingable chute, the second stage is a non-swaying chute, and the last stage is a simple inclined plate. Provided in the department,
(3) A three-stage chute in which the foremost stage and the second stage are swingable chutes, the last stage is a simple inclined plate, and a stop portion of the article is provided at each end of the foremost stage and the second stage. ,
(4) Four-stage chutes, in which the first stage is a swingable chute, the second and third stages are non-oscillating chutes, and the last stage is a simple inclined plate, and a stop portion of an article is excluded from the last stage. The one provided at the step end portion or the like is possible.

[0012] In the case of the article transport apparatus of claim 2,
(1) A two-stage chute in which the first chute is a swingable chute and the second chute is a non-sway chute, and a stop portion of the article is provided at the tip of each chute. (2) Two-stage chute A chute in which the front and rear chutes are swingable chutes, and a stop portion of an article is provided at a tip end of each of the chutes, and (3) a three-stage chute in which the foremost stage can swing. A chute, a second chute and a last chute which are non-swinging chute, provided with a stop portion of the article at a tip end of each chute, (4) a three-chute chute,
Each stage is a swingable chute, and an article stop is provided at the tip of each stage. (5) A four-stage chute, wherein the first stage is a swingable chute, and the second to last stages are A chute that does not swing, and in which a stop portion of an article is provided at the tip of each step, or the like can be used.

[0013]

In the article conveying apparatus according to the first and second aspects, the chute is divided and arranged in a plurality of stages, so that the length of each stage chute can be shortened, so that the article on the chute can be stably and normally operated. In such a state, it can be stopped at the article stop and transferred to the subsequent conveyor more accurately than the conventional chute device. In addition, if a small trouble occurs in the subsequent process, a large number of articles can be accumulated on the chute, and if more articles stagnate on the chute, the swingable chute is opened. The product can be dropped and ejected, so that it is possible to continue operation without stopping the entire transport device, and even if the product rolls diagonally on the chute and many products stagnate on the chute, Since the articles can be dropped and ejected from the swingable chute, it is possible to easily and accurately cope with troubles in the subsequent steps and the like, and the articles can be transported and packed in-line.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the long groove is provided so that a part or the whole of the article can be immersed, the article can be more reliably stopped at the article stopping portion in a normal state. In addition, since the long groove is formed by the inclined plate that is inclined forward in the article transfer direction, the article pushed by the article push-up device is more reliably transferred to the subsequent process. For example, when the last stage of the chute device is a chute with a simple inclined surface as in the first aspect, the article is reliably rolled and supplied onto the chute by its own weight.

In the article conveying apparatus according to the fourth and fifth aspects, since one article is received on the caterpillar conveyor corresponding to one empty bucket of the bucket conveyor, the articles can be reliably received by each empty bucket. Can be. In the article transport device according to the fourth aspect, the article pushed by the push-up device of the last article stop portion rolls on an inclined surface which is the last chute immediately after the article stop section, and the caterpillar is moved. It is conveyed by being raked by the blades of the conveyor.

In the article conveying apparatus according to the sixth aspect, when the bucket conveyor stops intermittently while conveying the articles, the articles are pressed against the guide plate by the operation of the aligning pusher, and the conveying direction is aligned. Will be

[0017]

Next, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the embodiments shown in FIGS. FIG. 1 is a front view showing the first half of a conveying device for empty toothpaste filling tubes (cylindrical articles having an open end and a cap attached to the other end). FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the multi-stage chute apparatus and the caterpillar conveyor of FIG.
FIG. 3 is a front view showing the rear half of the transport device. FIG.
Is a plan view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is a plan view of FIG. This apparatus is a cylindrical article having an open end, for example, an empty tube of toothpaste, is conveyed by a bucket conveyor after being transported while rolling on a chute apparatus having an inclined surface,
FIG. 3 shows an article transport / boxing apparatus in which respective rods of a comb-like member are inserted into respective hollow portions of a plurality of articles on the conveyor, and a plurality of articles are collectively picked up and packed. . This transport device is roughly divided into a multi-stage chute device 10, a caterpillar conveyor 40, and a bucket conveyor 60.
And the driving device 80, the multi-stage chute device 1
0, a visual inspection conveyor 90, a tube full length inspection step (not shown) at the front stage of the conveyor, and a box packing device (not shown) at the rear stage of the bucket conveyor 60.

The multi-stage chute apparatus 10 includes a first chute 13 comprising a chute plate 11 which is an inclined plate which can be opened and closed in the direction of the arrow by swinging and a fixed inclined plate 12 in order from left to right in the drawing, and a forward part in the article transfer direction. Inclined end plate 1 inclined to the side
A first article stop 16 comprising a long groove 16a formed by opposing 4 and 15 (stop plates) at equal intervals, a chute plate 17 which is an inclined plate which can be opened and closed in the direction of the arrow in the drawing by swinging, and a fixed inclined plate. A second chute 19 composed of 18 and inclined end plates 20 and 21 inclined forward in the article transfer direction
(Stop plate) is provided with the second article stop part 22 which consists of the long slot 22a formed so that it may mutually oppose at equal intervals. The widths of the long grooves 16a and 22a are set to have dimensions enough to allow a part of an empty tube as an article to be immersed (the height of each inclined end plate is 15 higher than 14;
21 is higher than 20, the article stops on the long groove while leaning on the inclined end plates 15, 21), and the inclined end plate 21
Is connected to an inclined plate 44 and a horizontal plate 45 which are inclined in the same direction as the chute plate 11. The chute plate 11 can be opened and closed by an air cylinder 23 and the chute plate 17 can be opened and closed by an air cylinder 24 (thin cylinder). 25 is also an air cylinder (thin cylinder), which is provided with a pusher 26 having a top end inclined in the same direction as the chute plate 11 via a stay at the tip end thereof.
It is slidably inserted in the inside. Similarly, an air cylinder (thin cylinder) 28 is provided with a pusher 29 having a top end inclined in the same direction as the chute plate 11 via a stay at a tip end thereof, and the pusher 29 is provided in the long groove 22a. It is slidably inserted. Further, as sensors for detecting the transfer state of the articles, transmission type optical sensors 30, 31, 32 and 33 are respectively provided in the front half of the chute plate 11, that is, on the near side in the article transfer direction,
It is provided directly above the long groove 16a, the front half on the chute plate 17, and directly above the long groove 22a.

The caterpillar conveyor 40 has a plurality of blades 43 protruding from an endless belt 42 which can run by a chain 41, and an article transfer space is formed between the adjacent blades 43. It is possible to run. The inclined plate 44 and the horizontal plate 45 are located immediately below the article receiving portion of the conveyor 40, and a transmission type optical sensor 46 is provided immediately above the inclined plate 44. The chain 41 is mounted on sprockets 47 and 48.

The bucket conveyor 60 is configured by arranging buckets 62 at equal intervals on an endless chain 61 with an attachment, and is capable of running intermittently while synchronizing with the caterpillar conveyor 40. The bucket 62 has two rectangular plates 63, 63 facing each other in a V-shaped cross section. A guide plate 64 protrudes vertically on one side of this bucket conveyor 60 (on the front side in FIGS. 1 and 3, ie, on the upper side in FIG. 5).
A pusher 65 for arranging articles operable in a direction perpendicular to the direction 4 is provided, and a transmissive optical sensor 66 is provided at an appropriate position in the rear half of the bucket conveyor 60. The pusher 65 is operated by an air cylinder (not shown), and an optical sensor 66 is provided at a position where the bucket 62 intermittently stops in the rear half of the bucket conveyor 60. To check. The chain 61 is mounted on sprockets 67 and 68. A chain 70 is mounted on the sprockets 67 and 71, and the chain 70 is also mounted on the sprocket 48.

The driving device 80 includes a motor, a continuously variable transmission (both not shown), and a chain transmission mechanism including a sprocket 81, chains 82, 83, and the like.
3 is mounted on the sprocket 68. And
The rotation of the motor is transmitted to a sprocket 68 via a chain 83, and the rotation of the sprocket 67 is
0 to the sprocket 48.

The optical sensors 30 to 33, 46 and 6
6 is communicated to a control device (not shown) of the article conveying device, and when it is detected by the sensor 30 that the stagnation has occurred on the first chute 13 for a predetermined time, the air cylinder 23 is controlled via the control device. The air cylinder 25 is operated when the sensor 31 confirms that the tube has stopped at the first article stopping portion 16 in a normal state. In the same manner, when the stagnation on the second chute 19 for a predetermined time is detected by the sensor 32, the air cylinder 24 is operated via the control device, and the tube is in a normal form and the second article stopping portion is operated. Sensor 3 stopped at 22
If it is confirmed in step 3, the air cylinder 28 is operated. If the sensor 46 confirms that the tube has been received, and the sensor 66 confirms that the bucket 62 that has moved to the sensor installation position is empty, the caterpillar conveyor 40
Operates in synchronization with the bucket conveyor 60 to transport tubes one by one,
Tubes are transferred one by one to the top. Further, when the bucket conveyor 60 intermittently stops for a predetermined time, the pusher 65 is operated to press the lower portion of the tube, and the head is brought into contact with the guide plate 64 to align the tube. .

Next, the mode of operation of the apparatus of this embodiment will be described. First, a description will be given of a case of a normal operation state. When the driving device 80 is started, the caterpillar conveyor 40 and the bucket conveyor 60 run while synchronizing. The tube G conveyed from the visual inspection conveyor 90 at equal time intervals rolls on the first chute 13 and enters the long groove 16 a of the first article stop 16, and the sensor 31
When the presence of the tube in the long groove is confirmed for a predetermined time, the tube is pushed up by the air cylinder 25 and rolls on the second chute 19. Similarly, if the presence of the tube in the long groove 22a is confirmed by the sensor 33 for a predetermined time, the tube is replaced with the air cylinder 28.
And rolls on the inclined plate 44. In addition,
In order to roll the tube on the chute and accurately stop it at the article stop, the above-mentioned long groove is extremely preferable.For example, when a guide plate for rolling guide is projected on both sides of the chute surface. It has been confirmed that the tube easily stops in the middle of this guide plate, and no improvement effect is obtained.

The existence of the tube on the inclined plate 44 is confirmed by the sensor 46 for a predetermined time, and the sensor 66
When the presence of the tube is not confirmed for a predetermined time, the caterpillar conveyor 40 travels for transferring one tube. Hereinafter, similarly, since the caterpillar conveyor 40 transports the tubes one by one onto the bucket conveyor 60, the tubes are loaded one by one on each bucket 62. Therefore, in this case, the empty bucket does not intervene between the buckets 62 on which the tubes are placed. Thus, the bucket conveyor 6
When a predetermined number, that is, N or more tubes, including the tubes on the bucket at the position where the sensor 66 is provided, are conveyed on the zero, the bucket conveyor 60 (and the caterpillar conveyor 40) is stopped by a signal from the sensor 66. In the meantime, a comb-like member having N rods protruding in parallel is inserted into a plurality of tubes at once (including the tube on the bucket at the position where the sensor 66 is disposed. 6) The operation of picking up N tubes and packing them in the packaging box B in this state is automatically performed as shown in FIG. During the period from the picking up to packing, the N buckets on the bucket conveyor 60 side including the bucket 62 at the position where the sensor 66 is disposed become empty, and the caterpillar conveyor 40 and the bucket conveyor 60 are operated by a signal from the sensor 66. Next, when N tubes are conveyed from the caterpillar conveyor 40, the same picking operation as described above is performed.

Next, the manner of operation when any trouble occurs in the multi-stage chute device 10 to the box packing device will be described for each type of trouble. (1) When a large number of tubes are stagnated on the first chute 13 or the second chute 19 because the tubes do not enter the long groove 16a or 22a (such troubles occur rarely): The air cylinders 23 or 24 are operated based on the operation, and the tubes on these chutes are dropped and discharged. (2) When the tube cannot be picked up due to some trouble in the box packing process including the trouble at the time of picking up the tube: the sensor 66
When the bucket 62 at the arrangement position is empty, the tube is continuously transported by the caterpillar conveyor 40. When the tube is placed on the bucket 62 at the sensor 66 arrangement position due to the continuation of the transport, the sensor 6
The movement of the track conveyors 40 and 60 is stopped by the operation of 6. (3) When only the second chute 19 or a large number of tubes are stagnated on the first chute 13 and the second chute 19 due to the stop of the operation of the caterpillar conveyor 40: The tubes are stagnated in the same manner as in the above (1). Chute plate 17 or chute plates 11 and 17
And release the tube. (1),
The tube dropped and discharged in (3) is returned to the full length inspection step, and then supplied to the visual inspection conveyor 90 to be checked again.

[0026]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the article transporting device according to the first and second aspects, the article on the chute is stopped at the article stopping section in a stable and normal state. It can be transferred to the subsequent conveyor more accurately than the chute device. In addition, if a small trouble occurs in the subsequent process, a large number of articles can be accumulated on the chute, and if more articles stagnate on the chute, the articles can be dropped and discharged from the chute. Therefore, it is possible to continue the operation without stopping the entire transfer device, and even if the articles roll diagonally on the chute and many articles stagnate on the chute, the articles can be dropped and discharged from the chute. , Can easily and accurately deal with troubles such as post-processing,
There is an effect that packing can be performed in-line.
According to the article transport device of the third aspect, since the long groove for immersing the article is provided, the article is more reliably stopped at the article stopping portion in a normal state, so that it can be processed more smoothly in the subsequent process. it can. In addition, since the inclined plate on the front side in the article transfer direction is inclined forward in the article transfer direction, the articles pushed by the article push-up device are more reliably transferred to the subsequent process, for example, inclined immediately after the inclined plate. When the chute by the surface is provided, the article is reliably rolled and supplied onto the chute by its own weight. According to the article transport device of the fourth and fifth aspects, since one article is received on the caterpillar conveyor corresponding to one empty bucket of the bucket conveyor, the article can be reliably received by each empty bucket. . Therefore, such a conveyor device inserts each rod of a comb-like member into each hollow portion of a plurality of articles on a bucket conveyor, picks up the plurality of articles at a time, and packs the articles ( For example, this is a very advantageous device for conveying an empty tube for filling toothpaste. According to the article transport device of the fourth aspect, the article pushed by the push-up device of the last article stop section rolls on the inclined surface immediately after the article stop section, and is moved by the blades of the caterpillar conveyor. Since they are raked and conveyed, it is possible to reliably receive the articles by the conveyor. According to the article conveying device of the sixth aspect, the articles are pressed against the guide plate by the operation of the aligning pusher, and the articles are aligned in the conveying direction. , And can be performed with high efficiency.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a front half according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the two-stage chute device and the caterpillar conveyor of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the rear half of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view related to the embodiment of FIG. 1 and showing a state in which tubes are packed in a packing box.

FIG. 7 is a schematic explanatory view of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 10 Multi-stage chute device 11 Chute plate 12 Fixed inclined plate 13 First chute 14 Inclined end plate 15 Inclined end plate (stop plate) 16 First article stop 16a Long groove 17 Shoot plate 18 Fixed inclined plate 19 Second chute 20 Inclined end plate Reference Signs List 21 inclined end plate (stop plate) 22 second article stop portion 22a long groove 23 air cylinder 24, 25, 28 air cylinder (thin cylinder) 26, 29 pusher 30-33 light sensor 40 caterpillar conveyor 41 chain 42 belt 43 blade 43 Inclined plate 45 Horizontal plate 46 Optical sensor 47,48 Sprocket 60 Bucket conveyor 61 Chain 62 Bucket 63 Rectangular plate 64 Guide plate 65 Pusher 66 Optical sensor 67,68 Sprocket 70 Chain 71 Sprocket 80 Prime mover 81 sprocket 82 and 83 chain

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Shinji Ide 4- 14-12 Koishikawa, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo Inside the printing company (72) Inventor Shigeru Nakamura 4- 14-12 Koishikawa, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo (56) References JP-A-1-172122 (JP, A) JP-A-57-102419 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65G 47 / 78

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. An article transporting apparatus in which a cylindrical or columnar article is transported while being rolled on a chute device having an inclined surface, and then conveyed by an appropriate conveyor. A chute divided into a plurality of stages in the direction of transporting the articles, wherein at least the foremost stage chute among the chutes excluding the last stage chute can be swung in a direction in which the inclination of the inclined surface increases and decreases, and the last stage chute A stop portion of the article at the tip of each step chute except for, and an article push-up device provided at the stop portion,
Providing a sensor for detecting the transfer state of an article at an appropriate position in the first half on the swingable chute and at each stop, and when it is confirmed by the sensor that the article has stopped in the stop at a normal state. The sensor activates the article pushing device and pushes it up. When it is confirmed by the sensor that the article has stagnated for a predetermined time on the swingable chute, the sensor swings the chute. An article transport device wherein the articles are dropped and discharged. 2. An article conveying apparatus in which a cylindrical or columnar article is transported while rolling on a chute apparatus having an inclined surface, and then conveyed by an appropriate conveyor. The chute is divided into a plurality of stages in the transfer direction of the article, and at least the foremost chute is swingable in a direction in which the inclination of the inclined surface increases or decreases. And an article push-up device provided at the stop, and a sensor for detecting a transfer state of the article is provided at an appropriate position in the first half on the swingable chute and at each of the step stops. When it is confirmed by the sensor that the vehicle has stopped in a normal state, the sensor activates the article pushing device and pushes it up, and the article stops on the swingable chute for a predetermined time. An article conveying apparatus characterized in that, when it is confirmed by a sensor that the sheet has stopped, the sensor swings the chute to drop and discharge the article. 3. The article stopping section is a long groove formed by two inclined plates inclined forward in the article transfer direction and opposed in the article transfer direction, wherein the long groove is part or whole of the article. 3. The article conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the article conveying apparatus has a size sufficient to immerse the article. 4. A caterpillar conveyor is provided immediately above the last-stage chute as the conveyor, and a bucket conveyor is provided immediately after the conveyer. Provide a sensor for detecting, the presence of the article is confirmed in the article receiving unit by the sensor, and when the presence of the article is not confirmed on the bucket that has been transferred to the predetermined location, the caterpillar conveyor is synchronized with the bucket conveyor. The article conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the articles are conveyed one by one while being operated while the articles are conveyed one by one onto a bucket conveyor. 5. A caterpillar conveyor is provided immediately after the chute device as the conveyor, and a bucket conveyor is provided immediately after the chute device, and an article transfer state is detected at an article receiving portion of the caterpillar conveyor and at a predetermined position of the bucket conveyor. In the case where the presence of an article is confirmed at the article receiving section by the sensor and the presence of the article is not confirmed on the bucket transferred to the predetermined location, the caterpillar conveyor is synchronized with the bucket conveyor. 4. The article conveying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the apparatus is operated to convey the articles one by one and transports the articles one by one on a bucket conveyor. 6. The bucket conveyor can be operated intermittently, and a guide plate is provided on one side of the bucket conveyor in the article conveying direction, and an alignment operable in a direction perpendicular to the guide plate is provided on the other side. The article conveying device according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the pusher is provided at an intermittent stop position of the bucket conveyor.